The Mornington Peninsula is home to an abundance of cool-climate wines, with hundreds of vineyards producing award-winning pinot noir, chardonnay, pinot grigio, pinot gris and shiraz. With so many wineries, finding the pick of the bunch to visit can be a daunting prospect.

That’s where Grape Expectations Australia comes in. As founder Michael Aveson says: “Sure, some wine tours will drive you around a few vineyards, but Grape Expectations Australia believes you deserve so much more.”

The Grape Expectations Australia experience begins when #EstellaTheLadyBus picks you up from your front doorstep. Named after a character in Dickens’s Great Expectations, Estella is a luxury 12-seat Mercedes Benz minibus that will drive you to a selection of the Peninsula’s most stunning wineries and drop you home again after a full day of wine-tasting, a leisurely grazing-style lunch, meeting wine-makers and gaining entertaining and informative insights into our winemaking industry.

“This is not just a wine tour,” Michael says. “It’s a relaxed and sophisticated journey into the gloriousness of our region’s wineries — the countryside, the characters and, of course, the wine.”

Originally from the UK, Michael first visited the Peninsula 15 years ago, fell in love with the region and moved to Australia two years later, joining his Australian family who have lived in the area for more than 50 years. After working as a DJ in the UK and having a successful career with Mercedes-Benz in Melbourne, he found inspiration for Grape Expectations Australia during a winery tour on holiday, combining all of his passions.